Becoming a Better Structural Engineer

Boy, are you in the right place.

Most of what I've learned (including during school, and including studying for exams), I've learned right here... reading posts on relevant topics and creating discussions when something unique or puzzling came up.

Spend some time here, do some light reading (the best text recommendations have also come from here). Studying for the SE has also been good to me, opened my eyes to some stuff I don't deal with (unfortunately also exposed me to bridges).

• For me personally nothing has improved my skills more than broadening my experiences. And I suspect that most people would agree here.

If you are running your own business, as you seem to imply, then seek out other work. Start small and only just beyond your current area of knowledge. Expect to make less money in other work in your first dozen jobs. Both your knowledge and your work flow will hamper your productivity. But better to get paid to learn, even if it is at a third of your rate than to spend time with textbooks and online tutorials.

• Second to that has been Eng-Tips.

Eng-Tips exposes you to know problems and challenges that your engaged and enthusiastic peers are facing. Both listening and contributing help to build and cement your knowledge. For me at least, spending time on this forums has greatly broadened my knowledge and occasionally in some of the deep threads it deepens it.

• Courses etc: Including industry webinars, in-person courses, online YouTube structural blogs, textbooks and free online courses/tutorials.

All of these have provided some benefit roughly in the order listed. You have to be engaged and you might find that 90% of the presentation is telling you what you already know. But that last 10% adds to your knowledge or could trigger a whole chain of questions that cascade into significant growth.

• Never stop learning!

If you find yourself completely repeating the same things over and over again then you likely will start learning less. Have your engineer brain switch on 90% of the time. Sounds a bit intense when I say it outload but that has been what I've done over my relatively short career and I'm managing to charge ahead in leaps and bounds!


(One final comment.) You don't need to be a jack of all trades. Structural is a broad field. Personally I still struggle with residential both in experience, knowledge and workflow. I sometimes wonder if I should persist as I currently don't enjoy it. But for the moment it is still on my radar so I can keep my client base broad. I suspect I might never try to branch into concrete construction beyond foundations and retaining walls. But who knows what the future holds. My current area of expertise is keeping me busy, paid and challenged. I'm also getting referrals so my client base is broadening organically.

Thus, I haven't felt the need to broaden significantly outside what my existing work asks of me. (Residential for me is annoying and I don't chase the work, but I continue at it and hope I eventually improve my interest and productivity.)

Here are three Youtube channels that I occasionally view. They are all Australian based. All pitched at a strucutral engineering audience but generally for targeted toward those just beginning their career. I still find them a little useful as they a palatable and can cement knowledge or add a question to your current knowledge.


Please let me know if there are similar channels that you find productive.

Since opening my practice, I have been niching down and being hyper focused on my niche. I have found trying to become one of the most knowledgeable people in my niche has both helped me grow as an engineer and helped my business become more profitable.

Getting involved on committees (like TRB and AASHTO), reviewing papers for publication, and subscribing to every webinar related to my niche are ways I keep sharp. Even if I can nearly give 90% of the presentation myself, there is usually one gold nugget in there that makes sitting through the rest of the presentation worth it.

I have also found attending contractor trainings helpful. I am usually the lone engineer there, and I will have a dozen contractors approach me with questions that help me think outside of engineering numbers and look more at practical solutions a contractor can implement (in addition to gaining clients that are trying to broaden their knowledge as well).

LOTE said:

Since opening my practice, I have been niching down and being hyper focused on my niche.

Click to expand...

Well done. Being a niche provider in any field generally results in better income than a jack of all trades. In some cases it can make things boring and less diverse, but some niches have so much diversity that isn't a problem. Lack of breadth can give diversification risk, but overall I think it is worth it. Even if you only less than half a dozen regular clients then you can work to keep your books full.

I'm essentially niching down. I still take on roles outside my niche because I don't want to close doors YET. But in general I find them less interesting, less pay and more hassle.